This page is updated as books are received throughout the month.
Blue Diablo by Ann Aguirre
(a Corine Solomon novel), Roc, $6.99, 325pp, pb, 9780451462640. Fantasy.
From the national bestselling author Ann Aguirre, Blue Diablo is the first book in a terrific new urban fantasy series that showcases Aguirre’s strong voice and writing talent.
Corine Solomon, the protagonist of Blue Diablo, is a handler; when she touches something, she knows what’s happened to the item, who’s owned it, and where it’s been. Her gift allows her to find what’s missing. As a result, people are always trying to find her, including her ex-boyfriend Chance. When Chance shows up on her doorstep, Corine is left with no choice but to help him find their missing friend. But her search proves even more dangerous than she suspected, as the trail she follows leads her into a strange dark world of demons and sorcerers, ghosts, zombies, and black magic.
Worldweavers: Cybermage by Alma Alexander
(book three of the Worldweavers trilogy), HarperTeen, $17.99, 426pp, hc, 9780060839611. YA Fantasy.
Drawing readers back into a magical world that’s engagingly modern and engrossingly suspenseful comes Alma Alexander’s Cybermage, the final installment of the richly invented Worldweavers trilogy. Thea discovers she’s an elemental mage, a category of magician so rare that only four others are known to exist. Now the Federal Bureau of Magic needs Thea’s help to unlock the mysterious white cube—the same cube found over the summer in the Professor’s housem the same cube the dangerous Alphiri are still after. To stay ahead of the Alphiri and the wiles of the FBM, Thea needs her friends—all of them.
Worldweavers: Spellspam by Alma Alexander
(book two of the Worldweavers trilogy), HarperTeen, $8.99, 457pp, pb, 9780060839604. YA Fantasy.
At first, they seemed like harmless practical jokes, but now, for the students at the Wandless Academy, the spellspams are getting worse. Thea thought she was the only one who could reach through the computer using magic, but someone else is out there, someone bent on more than just stirring up trouble. Someone with a dark agenda from a whole new world.
This sequel to Worldweavers: Gift of the Unmage ups the ante on a fantasy world that is rich and nuanced, like our own, but with a core of wildly original magic.
Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi: Outcast by Aaron Allston
(the first novel in a new 9-book series), Del Rey, $27.00, 321pp, hc, 9780345509062. Science fiction.
Does a new start for the Galactic Alliance mean the beginning of the end for the Jedi Order?
The next chapter in the extraordinary history of the Star Wars galaxy begins now with the first novel in a new nine-book, multi-author series: Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi: Outcast by New York Times bestselling author Aaron Allston. The Fate of the Jedi series follows directly in the footsteps of the Legacy of the Force series and breaks new ground by being the first multi-author Star Wars series to be published all in hardcover. The series will be written by authors Aaron Allston, Christie Golden, and Troy Denning over three years.
After a violent civil war, and the devastation wrought by the now-fallen Darth Caedus, the Galactic Alliance is in crisis—and in need. From all corners, politicians, power brokers and military leaders converge on Coruscant for a crucial summit to restore order, negotiate differences and determine the future of their unified worlds. But even more critical, and far more uncertain, is the future of the Jedi.
In a shocking move, Chief of State Natasi Daala orders the arrest of Luke Skywalker for failing to prevent Jacen Solo’s turn to the dark side and his subsequent reign of terror as a Sith Lord. But it’s only the first blow in an anti-Jedi backlash fueled by a hostile government and suspicious public. When Jedi Knight Valin Horn, scion of a politically influential family, suffers a mysterious psychotic break and becomes a dangerous fugitive, the Jedi become the target of a media-drive witch hunt. Facing conviction on the damning charges, Luke has only one choice. He must strike a bargain with the calculating Daala: his freedom in exchange for his exile—from Coruscant and from the Jedi Order.
Now, though forbidden to intervene in Jedi affairs, Luke is determined to keep history from being repeated. With his son Ben at his side, Luke sets out to unravel the shocking truth behind Jacen Solo’s corruption and downfall. But the secrets he uncovers among the enigmatic Force mystics of the distant world Dorin may bring his quest—and life as he knows it—to a sudden end. And all the while, another Jedi Knight, consumed by the same madness as Valin Horn, is headed for Coruscant on a fearsome mission that could doom the Jedi Order… and devastate the entire galaxy.
With two million copies in print of the Legacy of the Force series, the launch of the Fate of the Jedi heralds a new chapter in one of the most successful franchises of all time.
Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews
(a Kate Daniels novel), Ace, $7.99, 310pp, pb, 9780441017027. Fantasy.
Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews is the third in her national bestselling Kate Daniels urban fantasy series, featuring a tough chick mercenary, the shape-shifting lord of the Beasts, and some really disturbing vampires.
Kate Daniels is a mercenary who makes her living cleaning up problems of a magical kind, and she’s been in some sticky situations in her time. But the Midnight Games, an ultimate fighting tournament with fighters of both the human and the preternatural varieities, brings a whole new meaning to the term “sticky situation”. As Kate investigates the fighters, she and Curran, the Lord of the Beasts, will uncover a dark plot concealed beneath the surface of the tournament that may change the face of Atlanta’s shapeshifting community forever…
Diamond Star by Catherine Asaro
Baen, $23.00, 480pp, hc, 9781416591603. Fantasy. On-sale date: May 2009.
Del was a rock singer. He was also the renegade son of the Ruby Dynasty, which made his career choice less than respectable, and gave him more to worry about than getting gigs and not getting cheated by recording companies, club owners, or his agent. For one thing, the Ruby Dynasty ruled the Skolian Imperialate, an interstellar Empire, which had recently had a war with another empire, the Eubian Concord. For another, Del was singing on Earth, which was part of a third interstellar civilization, and one which had an uneasy relationship with the Imperialate. Del undeniably had talent, and was rapidly rising from an unknown fringe artist to stardom. But, with his life entangled in the politics of three interstellar civilizations, whether he wanted that or not, talent might not be enough. And that factor might have much more effect than his music on the lives of trillions of people on the thousands of inhabited worlds across the galaxy.
The Ruby Dice by Catherine Asaro
Baen, $7.99, 583pp, pb, 9781416591580. Science fiction.
Jaibriol rules the Eubian Concord: over two trillion people across more than a thousand worlds and habitats. Kelric rules the Skolian Imperialate. Ten years ago, Jaibriol lost his parents in the final battle of the Radiance War between the Concord and the Imperialate. Now war again threatens to devastate vast swathes of the galaxy.
Neither Jaibriol nor Kelric want war, but neither is complete master of his realm. And each hides a secret that, if revealed, might be his downfall.
Neither man knows how much longer he can keep his secret—nor how much longer they can hold back the impending war and an even greater threat that could destroy hundreds of inhabited worlds.
Dragons Luck by Robert Asprin
(book two of Dragons Wild), Ace, $15.00, 371pp, tp, 97804441016808. Fantasy.
Robert Asprin, author of the Myth, Phule’s Company and Dragons Wild series passed away in May 2008 in his hometown of New Orleans. His legacy continues with the second installment in his Dragons Wild series entitled Dragons Luck.
In Dragons Luck, protagonist Griffen McCandles is still adjusting to the idea that he, along with his sister Valerie, are dragons. Griffen manages a gambling business in New Orleans and things seem pretty quiet, until he agrees to do a favor for his friend Rose, a ghost. New Orleans is about to host a conclave of supernatural beings—vampires, changelings, ghosts and more. Dragons are usually above all that; they don’t even attend. But Griffen is new enough to being a dragon that he’s interested. There are already people in town who want to kill him. And when every kind of supernatural being on earth gathers on the streets of the French Quarter, Griffen’s wish for a quiet life may be more than a dragon can hope for.
Turn Coat by Jim Butcher
(a novel of the Dresden Files), Roc, $25.95, 432pp, hc, 9780451462565. Fantasy.
Bestselling author Jim Butcher has entranced fans with not one, but two bestselling series: the epic classic fantasy of The Codex Alera series and the urban noir fantasy of the Dresden Files. Jim Butcher’s famous wizard private investigator, Harry Dresden, is back in the latest installment of the Dresden Files: Turn Coat: A Novel of the Dresden Files.
Harry Dresden, a professional wizard, has done his best to keep his nose clean where the White Council of Wizards is concerned. Now Dresden finds himself faced with a nightmarish dilemma: Morgan, formerly his chief persecutor among the Wardens, has been wrongly accused of treason against the White Council—and has come to Harry for help.
Dresden faces a daunting task: clear Morgan’s name while simultaneously hiding him from the Wardens and the supernatural bounty hunters sent to find him, discovering the identity of the true turncoat and, of course, avoiding accusations of treachery on his own. A single mistake may mean that heads—quite literally—will roll. And one of them could be his own…
Curse the Dawn by Karen Chance
(a Cassie Palmer novel), Onyx, $7.99, 386pp, pb, 978045412706. Fantasy.
Curse the Dawn is the fourth book in Karen Chance’s New York Times bestselling vampire series. This wonderfully entertaining urban fantasy series is sure to captivate fans and new readers alike with its addictive blend of fantasy, romance, and horror!
As the world’s chief clairvoyant, Cassandra Palmer has a lot on her plate. Most of the supernatural power players don’t want the independent minded Cassie as chief clairvoyant, and they’re willing to put her six feet under in order to get a new one. Things get even more complicated when Apollo, the source of Cassie’s power, threatens her very existence. Even with the Vampire Senate on her side and an alliance with the sexy master vampire Mircea, it is difficult to keep Cassie alive. Will she be able to save her life… and the world?
Inferno: New Tales of Terror and the Supernatural edited by Ellen Datlow
Tor, $15.95, 382pp, tp, 9780765315595. Horror anthology.
Award-winning editor Ellen Datlow asked her favorite authors for stories that would provide the reader with “a frisson of shock, or a moment of dread so powerful it might cause the reader outright physical discomfort,” or “a sensation of fear so palpable that the reader feels compelled to turn on the bright lights and play music or seek the company of others to dispel the fear.”
Mission accomplished. Datlow has produced a collection filled with some of the most powerful voidces both inside and outside the horror field: Pat Cadigan, Terry Dowling, Jeffrey Ford, Christopher Fowler, Glen Hirshberg, K.W. Jeter, Joyce Carol Oates, and Lucius Shepard, to name a few.
As the character toil in their creator’s unique versions of hell, Inferno will ignite the darkest corners of your imagination and further illuminate Ellen Datlow as the preeminent editor of modern horror.
[Contributors: K.W. Jeter, Stephen Gallagher, Laird Barron, Nathan Ballingrud, Elizabeth Bear, Christopher Fowler, Mike O’Driscoll, John Grant, Mark Samuels, Joyce Carol Oates, Lee Thomas, P.D. Cacek, Paul Finch, Lucius Shepard, Simon Bestwick, Conrad Williams, Pat Cadigan, Glen Hirshberg, Jeffrey Ford, and Terry Dowling.]
Nebula Awards Showcase: 2009 edited by Ellen Datlow
Roc, $16.00, 436pp, tp, 978045462558. Science fiction anthology.
Nebula Awards Showcase 2009, edited by Ellen Datlow, is Roc’s annual collection of the Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy.
The Nebula Awards are voted on, and presented by, active members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Lloyd Biggle, Jr., SFWA’s first secretary-treasurer, originally proposed in 1965 that the organization publish an annual anthology of the best stories of the year. Since then, the Nebula Awards have been given each year for the best novel, novella, novelette, short story, and screenplay eligible for that year’s award. An anthology including winning pieces of short fiction and several runners-up is published every year. Each year’s volume also includes a section of original non-fiction, dealing with some aspect of the science fiction/fantasy field.
[Contributors: Ellen Datlow, Ted Chiang, Karen Joy Fowler, Barry N. Malzberg, Kathleen Ann Goonan, David D. Levine, Geoff Ryman, Michael Chabon, Jane Yolen, Rich Rostow, Mike Allen, Lucius Shepard, Howard Waldrop, Tim Lucas, Kij Johnson, Kim Newman, Michael Moorcock, Gwenda Bond, Ellen Asher, Jennifer Pelland, Andy Duncan, Nancy Kress, and Joe R. Lansdale.]
When the Tide Rises by David Drake
Baen, $7.99, 507pp, pb, 9781416591566. Science fiction.
When the Republic of Cinnabar doesn’t have enough battleships to deal with all the crises in its war with the Alliance, it sends the next best thing: Commander Daniel Leary and his friend, the spy Adele Mundy. This time they’re off to help the Bagarian cluster in its rebellion against the Alliance, but they’ll quickly find that the worst threats to the rebels are the treacherous politicians leading them.
Leary and Mundy use electronic espionage, submachine gunes, and ship-killing missiles to outwit political rivals, put down mutiny, and capture an Alliance fortress. When all else fails, they’ll strike for the heart of the Alliance—and then throw their tiny corvette into a major fleet action in order to turn the tide.
SUM: Forty Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman
Pantheon, $20.00, 115pp, hc, 9780307377340. Fiction.
Endlessly inventive and compellingly readable, neuroscientist David Eagleman’s SUM: Forty Tales from the Afterlives presents a range of possibilities for the world that comes (or does not come) after death. Beautifully written, these vignettes lead us through imaginative afterlives born of science, religion, economics, and the highs and lows of human nature.
In some afterlives, you are a compendium of your experiences—relived in a reverse order, or relived in packets of time (all your pain together, your hours of driving, of sleeping, of clipping your nails); in others, you are surrounded only by people you knew, or entirely by strangers. In some afterlives, God is a woman, a married couple, an alien, or a man whose favorite book is Frankenstein and Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley is cared for by angels. In one afterlife we are God’s organs, in another, we expand enormously and uphold the cosmos; in yet another, the afterlife is privatized and computerized, and you live forever in a virtual world.
Every afterlife in Eagleman’s hands is turned, in precisely penned and moving prose, into a complete world unto itself. SUM encourages us to imagine an infinite array of possibilities, and offers us forty brilliantly original glimpses of what may be the world that awaits us.
Fragment by Warren Fahy
HarperCollins UK, £6.99, 490pp, pb, 9780007299546. Thriller.
When the cast and crew of reality TV show SeaLife land on the beautiful and unexplored Henders Island they are blissfully unaware that the decisions they make will shape the fate of mankind… if they can only survive.
For they quickly discover that the island is seething with danger. Having evolved in total isolation from the rest of the planet for millennia, Henders Island is home to a host of vicious and exotic predators—terrifying creatures that live in a lightning fast blur of kill or be killed.
A team of crack scientists is sent in to assess the situation and they are astounded by what they find. It soon becomes clear that even if the smallest bug ever made it off Henders Island, life on earth as we know it would change very quickly indeed.
The President is faced with the toughest decision of his career: take the risk of letting one of these creatures escape so that further research can be done, or nuke the island to protect the rest of planet Earth? Just when it seems the stakes couldn’t get any higher, the scientists make a surprise discovery that changes everything…
Rides a Dread Legion by Raymond E. Feist
(Book One of the Demonwar Saga), Eos, $26.99, 366pp, hc, 9780061468360. Fantasy.
Coming fresh off the heels of the popular Darkwar Trilogy, New York Times-bestselling author Raymond E. Feist launches the Demonwar Saga with Rides a Dread Legion.
Ten years have passed since the conclusion of the Darkwar Saga when a new threat emerges upon Midkemia. The Clan of the Seven Stars, a diasporic ancient race of high elves, lay claim to Midkemia as their ancient homeworld. Fleeing as demon hordes eviscerate their galaxy, the only chance for their race’s survival is usurpation of Midkemia.
Unknowingly, the magician Pug believes the elves to be potential allies. For he knows the true threat are the demons who invaded the elves’ world—the Dread Legion of the Demon King Maarg—who are relentlessly pursuing the elves to Midkemia.
To battle this fearsome enemy, Pug summons the help of a demon master, the warlock Amirantha, and a demon-taming cleric, Sandreena. Unwittingly, Pug has reunited two former lovers whose parting was bitter, and who might have severt agendas of their own. For Sandreena has a shadowy past and is as fierce a soldier as any man in her order, and Amirantha is brother to Pug’s sworn enemy—who may be in service to the Demon King Maarg himself.
Above all hangs the question: Can the beleaguered elves be trusted, or are they as dire a threat as the demons who pursue them?
Troy: Fall of Kings by David Gemmell and Stella Gemmell
(the stunning conclusion to the Troy saga), Ballantine, $15.00, 447pp, tp, 97803454770404. Historical fiction.
Internationally bestselling author David Gemmell broke new ground in historical fiction with Troy: Lord of the Silver Bow and Troy: Shield of Thunder, the first two novels of his Trojan War trilogy. Writing with passion, intelligence, and power, Gemmell brilliantly brought the world of ancient Greece and its famous heroes to life in a spellbinding saga that was both a triumph of the imagination and a bravura display of storytelling. Now, in Troy: Fall of Kings, Gemmell’s masterpiece comes to a resounding conclusion worthy of its Homeric model as the bloodthirsty armies of King Agamemnon lay siege to the golden city of Troy and its staunch but outnumbered defenders.
David Gemmell died in July 2006. 70,000 words of Troy: Fall of Kings were completed shortly before his death. David Gemmell’s wife, Stella, completed the remainder of the book, working from his very detailed chapter notes. Stella Gemmell has been heavily involved in the research and creation of the trilogy since its inception in 2003 and David left behind a plan of exactly how each character should develop for Fall of Kings.
Troy: Fall of Kings is the culmination of a story that interlaces myth and history, swash-buckling adventure and high romance. It shows how ordinary men and women can become heroes and achieve immortality; and it demonstrates how within each one of us lies the possibility of redemption.
Other Earths edited by Nick Gevers & Jay Lake
DAW, $7.99, 308pp, pb, 9780756405465. Science fiction anthology.
Alternate history explores the many possible directions our world could follow if certain key events didn’t occur at all or were changed in some crucial way. Is our Earth the only Earth, our reality the only one that exists? Or are there many parallel worlds and societies, some very similar to ours, some barely recognizable?
What if Lincoln had never become president, and the Civil War had never taken place? What if Columbus never discovered America, and the Inca developed a massive, technologically advanced empire? What if magic was real and a half-faery queen ruled England? What if Hitler and Germany won the war because America never got involved? What if many of the world’s religions were totally commercialized, their temples run like casinos, religions designed purely for profit? What if an author discovered a book written by an alterante version of himself?
These are just some of the possible pathways that you can take to explore the Other Earths that may be waiting just one event away.…
[Contributors: Robert Charles Wilson, Jeff VanderMeer, Stephen Baxter, Theodora Goss, Liz Williams, Gene Wolfe, Greg Van Eekhout, Alastair Reynolds, Paul Park, Lucius Shepard, and Benjamin Rosenbaum.]
Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi: Omen by Christie Golden
Del Rey/Lucasbooks, $27.00, 272pp, hc, 9780345509123. Science fiction. On-sale date: 1 July 2009.
Jedi Knights are going insane—and their powerful Force talents are out of control, threatening everyone around them. The Grand Master of the Jedi Order, Luke Skywalker, is in exile, traveling with his son Ben on the path his nephew Jacen took to learn non-Jedi approaches to the Force. With Luke gone, the Jedi Order is weakened, and an increasingly anti-Jedi government is hunting down and capturing the insane Jedi Knights, and imprisoning them the only safe way they know how: by freezing them in carbonite.
When one of these Knights demonstrates a rare Force ability known only to Jacen and a species of alien Force-users called the Aing-Tii, Luke and Ben head to the world of the Aing-Tii to figure out what the connection might be. But unbeknownst to them, a secret society of Sith has learned of Luke’s quest and is determined to stop him at any cost. And so they’ve sent out a strike team to find Luke… and kill him.
Evernight by Claudia Gray
HarperTeen, $8.99, 330pp, tp, 9780061284441. Teen fiction.
Bianca wants to escape.
At the eerily Gothic Evernight Academy, the other students are sleek, smart, and almost predatory. Bianca knows she doesn’t fit in.
When she meets handsome, brooding Lucas, he warns her to be careful—even when it comes to caring about him. But the connection between them can’t be denied. Bianca will risk anything to be with Lucas, but dark secrets are fated to tear them apart… and to make Bianca question everything she’s ever believed.
Stargazer by Claudia Gray
HarperTeen, $16.99, 336pp, hc, 9780061284403. Teen fiction.
The vampire in me was closer to the surface…
Evernight Academy: an exclusive boarding school for the most beautiful, dangerous students of all—vampires. Bianca, born to two vampires, has always been told her destiny is to become one of them.
But Bianca fell in love with Lucas—a vampire hunter sworn to destroy her kind. They were torn apart when his true identity was revealed, forcing him to flee the school.
Although they may be separated, Bianca and Lucas will not give each other up. She will risk anything for the chance to see him again, even if it means coming face-to-face with the vampire hunters of Black Cross—or deceiving the powerful vampires of Evernight. Bianca’s secrets will force her to live a life of lies.
Yet Bianca isn’t the only one keeping secrets. When Evernight is attacked by an evil force that seems to target her, she discovers the truth she thought she knew is only the beginning…
The Price of Sanctuary by Gaylon Greer
Medallion, $27.95, 320pp, hc, 9781605420585. Thriller. On-sale date: June 2009.
Shelby Le Cervoisier once led a life of privilege. Now she finds herself running for her life. Accused of killing an American immigration agent, Shelby has undertaken a mission on behalf of a secretive American espionage agency called the Caribbean Basin Task Force (CBTF) in exchange for a promise of legal amnesty and political asylum in America. Now, however, the CBTF agent who coerced her into accepting the assignment wants her dead to cover up the bungled mission.
Two assassins are hired to eliminate Shelby, who flees with her younger sister, Carmen, to America’s heartland, where she hopes to find a safe haven. She finds only fear, however, when she and her sister are captured by one of the hired assassins, Hank.
Discovering that sometimes feelings are more important than bounty money, Hank takes the sisters under his wing and secrets them away to his own hideout: a farm in a remote corner of Western Colorado. Have the sisters finally found sanctuary?
Not if Vlad, the second assassin, has his way. A psychopathic killer, he has left a string of tortured corpses in his wake as he searches for his target.
Shelby is about to discover that everything has a price, but The Price of Sanctuary might be too high to pay.
Skinwalker by Faith Hunter
Roc, $7.99, 336pp, pb, 9780451472800. Fantasy. On-sale date: 7 July 2009.
Skinwalker is the first in a brand-new urban fantasy series from Faith Hunter, starring Jane Yellowrock—a creature of Native American legend who can turn into any creature she desires. She also happens to hunt vampires for a living!
When a rogue vampire is killing other vamps in New Orleans, Jane is commissioned to find him. Between a bordello full of real “ladies of the night”, a hot Cajun biker with a panther tattoo who’s watching Jane like a hawk, and a rogue vampire who ccan beast some of the oldest vamps in town, this Skinwalker has her hands full.
Buyout by Alexander C. Irvine
Del Rey, $14.00, 336pp, tp, 9780345494337. Science fiction.
In February 2009, US federal judges ordered California to release up to 57,000 inmates from its overcrowded prisons over the next three years. That’s only one example of how the government has attempted to stamp down on the dangerous and costly overcrowding that’s taking place nationwide in America’s prison system. But with the inmate population still on the rise, and taxpayers paying the price, what else can possibly be done to solve the problem?
A bone-chilling, controversial solution is explored in Buyout, a high-concept, literary thriller from acclaimed novelist Alexander C. Irvine. Inspired by today’s politics, Buyout is an unforgettable look at an all-too-believable future where capitalism and the prison industry collide… and one man struggles to do the right thing.
One hundred years from now, the world has become a seamless, market-driven experience. In this culture of capitalism run amok, entrepreneurs and politicians faced with rampant overcrowding in the nation’s penal system turn to a controversial new method of cutting costs: life-term buyouts. In theory, buyouts offer convicted murderers the chance to atone for their crimes by voluntarily allowing themselves to be put to death by the state in exchange for a one-time cash payment, shared among their heirs and victims, based on a percentage of what it would have cost taxpayers to house and feed them for the rest of their natural lives. It’s a win-win situation.
At least that’s what Martin Kindred believes. And Martin is a man who desperately needs something to believe in, especially with his marriage coming apart and the murder of his brother unsolved. As the public face of the buyout program, Martin is a lightning rod for verbal and physical abuse—but he embraces every challenge, knowing his motives are pure. But when evidence comes to light that a felon in line for a buyout may have been involved with his brother’s death, Martin’s professional detachment threatens to turn into a personal vendetta that will jeopardize everything—and everyone—he holds dear.
Physics of the Impossible by Michio Kaku
Anchor, $15.95, 352pp, tp, 9780307278821. Physics.
Michio Kaku may be a renowned theoretical physicist, cofounder of string field theory, national radio and TV host, bestselling author, and “physicist-in-residence” at The Science Channel, but you certainly don’t have to be in order to journey with him to the place where science fiction meets real science. In his latest national bestseller, Physics of the Impossible, Kaku pushes the boundaries of the real world by asking: could the impossibilities of today become the realities of the future?
From the front lines of some of the most exciting developments in physics research, Kaku explores the fundamentals—and limits—of the laws of physics as we know them today, proving that the “impossible” is relative. He examines the impossible technologies abandoned by scientists and relegated to science fiction, by ranking them according to their possibility:
* Class I Impossibilities: Force fields, invisibility, teleportation, phasers and death stars, robots, and other physical impossibilities that may become possible in the next century because they don’t violate the laws of physics.
* Class II Impossibilities: Time travel, wormholes, parallel universes, and other technologies just beyond our grasp, but which may be a part of regular life millions of years from now.
* Class III Impossibilities: Perpetual motion machines, precognition, and other major impossibilities that violate our current understanding of physics, and which, if one day made possible, would change our entire understanding of the universe.
Physics of the Impossible is a fascinating and wildly entertaining exploration from one of contemporary physics’ most brilliant minds and engaging personalities. The book will be the subject of a Science Channel mini-series set to debut in Fall 2009.
The Philosophy of The X-Files edited by Dean A. Kowalski (foreword by William B. Davis)
(updated edition), University Press of Kentucky, $19.95, 314pp, tp, 9780813192277. Media/Philosophy.
When The X-Files went off the air in 2002, the truth was still out there. In the six years since the series finale, fans have pleaded for its creator, Chris Carter, to bring back the show, wanting desperately to believe that the mythology of the program could achieve a final resolution. The dreams of those fervent “X-Philes” were finally fulfilled when The X-Files: I Want to Believe hit theaters.
Due to the thought-provoking philosophical ideas the show brought to light week after week, The X-Files remains one of the most intellectually challenging series in the history of television, a show unafraid to engage in the dialogue of philosophical thought. That dialogue has only grown louder since the show ceased production.
Dean A. Kowalski taps into that reserve of philosophical inquiry with The Philosophy of The X-Files. This collection of essays hashes out the philosophical underpinnings of this cultural phenomenon. Kowalski and his many contributors deliberate on everything from metaphysics to ethics to existentialism in the landmark show and its first film continuation. They also engage in an intellectual study of the characters Mulder, Scully, Assistant Director Walter Skinner, and the mysterious Cigarette Smoking Man.
The new paperback edition of Kowalski’s work contains revised chapters on famed episodes “Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose” and “Jose Chung’s From Outer Space,” connecting their respective themes to the 2008 motion picture The X-Files: I Want to Believe. It also includes an added chapter devoted to the new movie, revealing what might be called the ultimate philosophy of The X-Files. This updated version of The Philosophy of The X-Files will have fans remembering what has made this cerebral series so engaging since the beginning.
[Contributors: Dean A. Kowalski, Mark C.E. Peterson, V. Alan White, Richard Flannery, David Louzecky, Richard M. Edwards, Keith Dromm, William M. Schneider, Erin McKenna, Timothy Dunn, Joseph J. Foy, S. Evan Kreider, Gordon Barnes, and Christopher R. Trogan.]
Arcade of Cruelty by Joseph P. Larkin
Also-Ran, $18.00, 264pp, tp, 9780615217994. Graphic novel.
My name is Joseph and, like the Artist Formerly and Currently Known as Prince, I am funky. Also-Ran, my tiny vanity publishing house, just released a book of my comics (or “comix,” if you’re a jerk) and drawings and other stuff called The Arcade of Cruelty (snappy title, huh? Cough!)—it’s a real hoot! And it will change your life, assuming your life is easily changed.
Longeye by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
(sequel to Duainfey), Baen, $24.00, 313pp, hc, 9781416591535. Fantasy.
Hidden from the human-inhabited world by the inimical magical device known as the keleigh, the Vaitura has become a subtle battleground where the once all-powerful Elder Fey strive against each other and the upstart Queen to regain ascendancy. Of all the Elder Fey it is Altimere who is strongest in magical kest and Altimere who is most devious. Pitted against a group seeking to manipulate the convalescing Ranger known as Longeye to foil the Queen and rule the world, Altimere dares to utilize the untested powers as half-human, half-Fey Rebecca Beauvelley.
Now all plans must be rewritten: Becca breaks Altimere’s capricious dominion with the dangerous herbal help of duainfey, but, weakened by the effort, is held against her will in service to the Queen. Becca must escape the Queen’s retainers to regain control of her own fate. With the magics of the Vaitura, and Altimere’s retribution arrayed against her, she escapes with only her horse, a mad forest-living Brethren, and her freed magical servant Nancy at her side. Worse, the recovered legendary hero Longeye, long beloved of the Vaitura’s forest folk and creatures, has re-armed at the Queen’s bidding, and knows most of all about Becca that she is both dangerous, and of the same folk who cruelly tortured him and slew his lover before his eyes.
Darkness Calls by Marjorie M. Liu
(Hunter Kiss, book two), Ace, $7.99, 320pp, pb, 9780441017300. Fantasy. On-sale date: 30 June 2009.
Darkness Calls is the second installment of Marjorie M. Liu’s Hunter Kiss series featuring heroine Maxine Kiss, a tattoo-covered zombie hunter and protector of the earth. Maxine’s tattoos are not made of ordinary ink; they serve as armor during the day and unravel from her body at night to take the shape of demons who protect Maxine from harm.
Maxine Kiss’ story began with the novella Hunter Kiss, which proved so popular with readers that Marjorie Liu expanded on the idea and launched an urban fantasy series that follows the adventures of Maxine Kiss. The first full-length novel in that series, The Iron Hunt, debuted last year and left readers wanting more. Fans have been highly anticipating Darkness Calls, the second book of the series.
In Darkness Calls, Maxine is the only one standing between humanity and the demons that would destroy it. Now, she is forced to face the terrifying mission of protecting Grant, the man she loves. Grant belongs to a race that was both enslaved and exterminated by the Avatars, a sect of beings divided by internal struggle. Those not killed were genetically altered to manipulate energy, including the Avatars themselves. Grant is the last of his kind who is truly free, and the Avatars want him dead. Maxine is the onlky one who can keep him safe, but to do that she must fight an army and the power of the Avatars. She must also be willing to release the darkness within, even if it alters her forever.
The Twilight Herald by Tom Lloyd
(Book Two of the Twilight Reign), Pyr, $15.98, 506pp, tp, 9781591027331. Fantasy.
Lord Bahl is dead and the young white-eye, Isak, stands in his place; less than a year after being plucked from obscurity and poverty the charismatic new Lord of the Farlan finds himself unprepared to deal with the attempt on his life that now spells war, and the possibility of rebellion waiting for him at home.
Now the eyes of the land turn to the minor city of Scree, which could soon be obliterated as the new Lord of the Farlan flexes his powers. Scree is suffering under an unnatural summer drought and surrounded by volatile mercenary armies that may be its only salvation.
This is a strange sanctuary for a fugitive abbot to flee to—but he is only the first of many to be drawn there. Kings and princes, lords and monsters, all walk the sun-scorched streets.
As elite soldiers clash after dark and actors perform cruel and subversive plays that work their way into the hearts of the audience, the city begins to tear itself apart—yet even chaos can be scripted.
There is a malevolent will at work in Scree, one that has a lesson for the entire land: nations can be manipulated, prophecies perverted and Gods denied.
Nothing lies beyond the reach of a shadow, and no matter how great a man’s power, there are some things he cannot be protected from.
The Twilight Herald is the second book in a powerful new series that combines inspired world-building, epoch-shattering battles, and high emotion to dazzling effect.
Wildfire by Sarah Micklem
(sequel to Firethorn), Scribner, $26.00, 480pp, hc, 9780743265249. Fantasy.
The highly anticipated second book in Sarah Micklem’s literary fantasy trilogy that began with the critically acclaimed debut, Firethorn
Sarah Micklem brings her lush prose and rich imagination to the second installment of this epic trilogy, set in an imaginary world as real as history and as marvelous as legend.
Sire Galan has forbidden his servant and lover Firethorn to follow him to war, but she disobeys, and sets sail with the army of Corymb to the land of Incus. During the crossing, Firethorn is struck by lightning. She regains consciousness to find her speech garbled and her memory in tatters. Despite her injuries, others see her as blessed, for she has survived the touch of a god, Wildfire. Priests and soldiers search her nonsensical utterings for hidden prophecies.
In the aftermath of battle, Firethorn is captured by the defeated king of Incus. He takes refuge in the kingdom where Firethorn was born, a place she remembered only in dreams. There, a world away from Galan, she discovers not only the land and language she was born to, but a life of unexpected luxury and power. But this privilege has a high cost, one which Firethorn may not be able to bear.
Corambis by Sarah Monette
(conclusion to the Mélusine series), Ace, $24.95, 423pp, hc, 9780441015962. Fantasy.
The wonderfully lush and sensual dark fantasy Corambis is the powerful conclusion to Sarah Monette’s engaging Mélusine series.
Felix Harrowgate, the protagonist of Corambis, was a dashing and powerful Cabaline wizard until his dark past caught up with him. After being exiled from Mélusine for the crime of heresy, Felix and his half-brother Mildmay journey to the land of Corambis. When Felix and Mildmay arrive, they encounter Kay Brightmore, the Margrave of Rothmarlin, who is part of an insurrection to restore the monarchy in the southern half of the country. In desperation, Kay and his liege seek out the engine of Summerdown, an ancient magical device rumored to have terrible powers. Once awakened, it can only be silenced by blood…
Duke Elric by Michael Moorcock (illustrated by Justin Sweet, foreword by Michael Chabon)
(Chronicles of the Last Emperor of Melniboné: Volume 4), Del Rey, $15.00, 341pp, tp, 9780345498656. Fantasy.
Del Rey proudly presents Duke Elric, the fourth in its definitive collection of stories featuring fantasy Grand Master Michael Moorcock’s greatest creation. Here is the full novel The Sailor on the Seas of Fate, the script of the DC comic Duke Elric, the new story “The Flaneur des Arcades de l’Opera,” essays by Moorcock and others, and a selection of classic artwork.
Has there ever been a hero—or anti-hero—to match Elric of Melniboné, the last emperor of an ancient civilization sunk into decadence and inhuman cruelty? Elric the albino, weary of life and enamored of death, bearer of the soul-devouring black sword Stormbringer, cursed to betray all he loves and to save that which he despises: In the unending battle between the forces of Law and Chaos, he is the wildest card of all.
Lavishly illustrated by Justin Sweet, with a Foreword by Pultizer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon, Duke Elric is essential for all fans of the fantastic.
Keeper of Light and Dust by Natasha Mostert
Dutton, $25.95, 310pp, hc, 9780525951001. Science fiction.
Following on the heels of her critically acclaimed book, Season of the Witch, Natasha Mostert’s new novel, Keeper of Light and Dust, combines ancient mysticism with cutting-edge science, unveiling a series of mysteries: a secret clan of women called “Keepers” who have healed and protected warriors through the ages; a modern-day vampire who seeks something other than blood; and a succession of martial artists in fine physical shape who have suddenly and mysteriously died.
The quest to live forever, the imperative of violence and the redemptive power of love are themes that come together in the intricate plot of Mostert’s fast-paced thriller. The author also contrasts the physical contact of professional martial arts with the non-physical world of cyberspace, questioning whether the modern world’s increasing reliance on virtual relationships and social networking will lead to feelings of alienation.
When Mia Lockert, a martial artists, tattooist and descendant of a long line of “Keepers,” meets Adrian Ashton, martial artist, brilliant scientist and killer—she is faced with a challenge. With the aid of an ancient Chinese text, Ashton has mastered the secret of capturing the vital energy—chi which flows through his opponents’ bodies. Mia finds herself drawn to Ashton’s dark genius, but when he targets the man she loves, she is forced to choose between the two and engages in a fight to the death in which love is both the greatest weakness and most coveted prize.
See this article for more on the fact that a portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book will go to fund the Cooperation for Peace and Unity’s “Fighting for Peace” initiative.
The Game of Stars and Comets by Andre Norton
Baen, $14.00, 518pp, tp, 9781416591559. Science fiction.
A game with life and death odds…
Four novels of rapid-fire interstellar adventure, set in a common universe, by the Grand Master of the form:
The X Factor: Only Diskan Fentress’s mutant powers had a chance of stopping the looting of his new world.
Voorloper: Three survivors—an embittered wanderer, his son, and a young girl with a healing power—set out to find the secret of the Shadow Death that blights the planet Voor.
Eye of the Monster: Rees Naper had survived the onslaught of the alien Ishkurian “crocs”, but had to cover miles of jungle and pass through croc armies to reach safety. To do that, he would have to think like a croc, move like a croc… and see through the eye of the monster.
The Sioux Spaceman: Kade Whitehawk chose to join the battle for Ikkinni freedom, even though that choice made him a renegade to his own people, and would almost certainly mean his death.
Publisher’s Note: This is the first time these novels have appeared in one volume.
City of Souls: The Fourth Sign of the Zodiac by Vicki Pettersson
Eos, $7.99, 368pp, pb, 9780061456787. Fantasy. On-sale date: 30 June 2009.
2009 sees the continuing growth in popularity of paranormal fiction and with it the publication of the fourth explosive novel of dark, supernatural adventure by New York Times bestselling author Vicki Pettersson. City of Souls is a thrilling tale of the eternal struggle of Light vs. Shadow played out behind the scenes in Sin City.
Joanna Archer grew up a mere mortal—albeit a privileged one, as the daughter of a Las Vegas casino mogul. A violent attack in her past left Joanna vengeful and incomplete, but she has come out stronger, empowered by her mother’s heritage as the Zodiac’s Archer of Light. With her newfound allies and status she has discovered strength and a chance at love, despite the evil that never rests.
In City of Souls, Joanna breaches a mystifying realm called Midheaven, where no one returns as they entered. She must prevail in her encounters with rogue agents, the strange beings of Midheaven, and the Tulpa (the most powerful force of all). All the while Joanna struggles with an inner battle, wrestling her growing romantic feelings for Hunter, a fellow agent of Light.
House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds
Ace, $26.95, 480pp, hc, 9780441017171. Science fiction. On-sale date: 2 June 2009.
House of Suns is a dazzling, dizzying space opera with a hard science-fiction heart, set in an entirely new universe, by the acknowledged master of the sub-genre, Alastair Reynolds.
Six million years ago, at the very dawn of the star-faring era, Abigail Gentian fractured herself into a thousand male and female clones. She called them shatterlings, and launched them into the galaxy. Their purpose was to observe and document the rise and fall of countless human empires. Since then, every two hundred thousand years, they have gathered together to exchange experiences and memories of their travels.
When two of the shatterlings, Campion and Purslane, fall in love and share experiences in a way forbidden to shatterlings, they run into trouble. On the way to the thirty-second reunion, to which they are bringing along an amnesiac golden robot as a guest, the two shatterlings discover that someone is eliminating the Gentian line. Warned ahead of time, Campion and Purslane join forces with the few remaining shatterlings to determine exactly who or what their enemy is, before they are wiped out of existence.
Eye of the Storm by John Ringo
(the new Posleen War novel), Baen, $26.00, 432pp, hc, 9781439132739. Science fiction. On-sale date: July 2009.
Beneath A Banner Burned…
In an instant the world changed for Lieutenant General Michael O’Neal. His beloved Corps of the last remaining ACS destroyed beneath the guns of the Fleet, his staff shot before his eyes, arrested on the charge of war crimes, he faces a short, one-sided, trial, a trip to the Fleet Penal Facility and a bullet to the back of the head while trying to “escape”.
The Boundaries Blur
General Tam Wesley faces trying one of the most beloved heroes in Federation, not to mention a friend of decades, on trumped up charges. He alternative is having the last corps of humans that haven’t sold their souls to the Darhel be taken apart like a chicken.
Then he finds out the bad news…
The Chaos Has Returned
With a new invasion from a previously unknown race threatening the Federation capital, Darhel Tir Dal Ron faces his ultimate nightmare: He is going to have to reinstate the one man human soldiers trust, a man with the power and knowledge to destroy the Darhel oligarchy forever. And instead convince him, against all logic, to save the Darhel.
Somebody is going to die. General Michael O’Neal, Supreme Commander, Federation Forces, just has to pick.
Wake by Robert J. Sawyer
(WWW volume one), Ace, $24.95, 356pp, hc, 9780441016792. Science fiction.
Robert J. Sawyer is one of only seven writers in history to win all three of the world’s top awards for best science-fiction novel of the year: the Nebula in 1995 for The Terminal Experiment, the Hugo in 2003 for Hominids, and the John W. Campbell Award in 2005 for Mindscan. Wake is the first volume in the stunning new WWW series from the internationally acclaimed author. Wake will be serialized in Analog Magazine from November to March.
In Wake, Robert Sawyer invites readers into the world of fifteen year old Caitlin Dector who is blind yet has the ability to surf the net by following its complex paths clearly in her mind. Once a new signal-processing implant is activated in her mind, Caitlin is able to see a landscape of the World Wide Web as it explodes into her consciousness. While in this amazing realm, Caitlin discovers an entity—a webmind—lurking in the background who tried to befriend her. But what exactly are the webmind’s intentions for Caitlin, and for all of humanity?
Dancing on the Head of a Pin by Thomas E. Sniegoski
(a Remy Chandler novel), Roc, $14.00, 291pp, tp, 9780451462510. Fantasy.
Dancin on the Head of a Pin is the second installment in Thomas E. Sniegoski’s compelling urban fantasy mystery series, which follows the adventures of Remy Chandler, once known as the Angel Remiel who chose to renounce heaven and live on earth.
Dancing on the Head of a Pin picks up where A Kiss Before the Apocalypse left off. As Remy becomes drawn to cases with a dark supernatural bent he finds it difficult to distance himself from his past. When the theft of priceless ancient weaponry threatens all of humanity, Remy finds himself at odds with the Fallen Angels, who want to use the weapons to build their power, and the Nomads, who have far darker intentions. Will Remy’s search leave even an immortal such as he to the brink of death?
Midwinter by Matthew Sturges
Pyr, $15.98, 345pp, tp, 9781591027348. Fantasy.
Winter comes to the land only once in a hundred years. But the snow covers ancient secrets: secrets that could topple a kingdom. Mauritaine was a war hero, a captain in the Seelie Army. Then he was accused of treason and sentence to life without parole at Crere Sulace, a dark and ancient prison in the mountains, far from the City Emerald. But now the Seelie Queen—Regina Titania herself—has offered him one last chance to redeem himself, an opportunity to regain his freedom and his honor.
Unfortunately, it’s a suicide mission, which is why only Mauritaine and the few prisoners he trusts enough to accompany him, would even dare attempt it: Raieve, beautiful and harsh, an emissary from a foreign land caught in the wrong place at the wrong time; Perrin Alt, Lord Silverdun, a nobleman imprisoned as a result of political intrigues so Byzantine that not even he understands them; and Brian Satterly, a human physicist, apprehended searching for the human victims of the faery changeling trade. Meanwhile, dark forces are at work at home and abroad. In the Seelie kingdom, the reluctant soldier Purane-Es burns with hatred for Mauritaine, and plots to steal the one thing that remains to him: his wife. Across the border, the black artist Hy Pezho courts the whim of Mab, offering a deadly weapon that could allow the Unseelie in their flying cities to crush Titania and her army once and for all.
With time running out, Mauritaine and his companions must cross the deadly Contested Lands filled with dire magical fallout from wars past. They will confront mounted patrols, brigands, and a traitor in their midst. And before they reach their destination, as the Unseelie Armies led by Queen Mab approach the border, Mauritaine must decide between his own freedom and the fate of the very land that has forsaken him.
Transhuman edited by Mark L. Van Name & T.K.F. Weisskopf
Baen, $7.99, 438pp, pb, 9781416591467. Science fiction anthology.
What it means to be human—is changing.
The rate of technological development is exploding. Diverse fields such as computing, communications, genetics, biology, and nanotechnology are rapidly pushing humanity to a singularity, a point at which all the rules change and everything we assume about what it means to be human may no longer apply.
Leading science fiction writers explore this strangest of new frontiers. From a criminal given a last chance at life in a very new kind of existence to a man struggling to claim his own humanity, from battles in the depths of very strange spaces to an amazing new version of keeping up with the Joneses, the stories in Transhuman take you where no human has gone before—but where many of us might soon go.
[Contributors: Mark L. Van Name, David D. Levine, Paul Chafe, Wen Spencer, John Lambshead, Daniel M. Hoyt, Esther M. Friesner, Wil McCarthy, Sarah A. Hoyt, Dave Freer, and James P. Hogan.]
Contact with Chaos by Michael Z. Williamson
Baen, $24.00, 323pp, hc, 9781416591542. Science fiction.
Contact with aliens may be hazardous to your health…
When an industrial exploration ship from the Freehold discovered a planet with sentient lifeforms—the first which humans had ever encountered—it should have been the most important event in history. And it might be—for all the wrong reasons.
The new planet was lacking in metals in its outer crust, which had limited the technology of its inhabitants. Even so, the Ishkul had done things with glass, ceramics and selective breeding that humans had never accomplished, and their knowledge could be valuable. But corporations on Freehold were eager to exploit the technological gap for the billions in trade advantage.
Then there was the U.N., which controlled most human planets. Earth and Freehold were not on good terms, to put it mildly, and the U.N. immediately sent its own ship to make contact with the Ishkul. If the authoritarians from Earth started throwing their weight around, Freehold would have to push back, causing anything from a diplomatic incident to outright war. And then another ship arrived, full of idealistic do-gooders determined to keep the Ishkul in their unspoiled state of nature.
The whole thing was turning into a cross between a Marx Brothers farce and a Kafkaesque nightmare, with a potential for Greek tragedy. Contact with a more advanced civilization might pose a danger to the Ishkul, but it was becoming even more dangerous to the human factions.
And there was one more thing: the natives are not quite as primitive as one would expect…
Let Sleeping Dogs Die by Liz Wolfe
Medallion, $8.95, 304pp, pb, 9781934755655. Mystery. On-sale date: August 2009.
Skye Donovan just got a great contract—shooting the calendar photos for The Pet Place, a national chain of pet stores. Okay, it’s not the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, but for a new photographer, it’s definitely a coup.
But when the owner of the doggie talent, Frank Johnson, is killed, Skye’s life is thrown into chaos. The investigating detective is her on-again, off-again lover, Scott Madison, and he’s threatening to close down her shoot until he finds the killer.
Skye isn’t about to lose her biggest job ever and dives into the investigation only to learn that a lot of people had reason to want the man dead.
Frank’s former partner thinks Frank cheated him out of his part of the business. The stylist working on the shoot says Frank reneged on selling him an award-winning show dog.
Then there are the neighbors who have been complaining about the noise from his kennel. Even Skye’s friend Lily has reason to hate the man. And Mayor Irene Knutson is demanding that Detective Madison come up with a suspect.
Juggling photo shoots, murder suspects, a shaky love affair, and even shakier friends… Uh, Skye, it might be time to Let Sleeping Dogs Die.
Ballistic Babes by John Zakour & Lawrence Ganem
(contains The Radioactive Redhead and The Frost-Haired Vixen), DAW, $8.99, 528pp, pb, 9780756405458. Science fiction.
It’s not easy being me—Zachary Nixon Johnson, the last freelance private investigator on Earth. Clients only enlist my services when the information they need is so dangerous any sane person would avoid it like .99 credit sushi. Sometimes I really regret my choice of career…
The Radioactive Redhead: It doesn’t help my situation that my AI sidekick, HARV, who was downloaded directly into my brain, is going through “changes”—sex changes to be exact. Yes, old HARV is now a red-hot redhead named HARA. But even more curious is my newest job—protecting Sexy Sprockets, the redheaded, teen-pop-rock media superstar, from the terrorists who are threatening to kill her due to her lack of talent. I’ve enlisted the help of my powerful psy assistant Carol (now also a redhead). But things are getting really weird. I’m finding myself pinned between three psionic, superhuman, readheaded dominatrices, each hell-bent on taking over the world. The billion-credit question is: how can I stop a killer who knows what I’m going to do before I do it?
The Frost-Haired Vixen: Imagine my surprise when the head honcho from the “Happiest Place on the Planet” showed up at my office. Santana Clausa was the beautiful, sensuous, mutant CEO of the North Pole Organization. Despite her bright red syn-fur micro-mini dress with its fluffy white trim, her jaunty matching cap, her spike-heel red boots, the twinkle in her bright green eyes, and frosty white hair that cascaded down her shoulders, she definitely did not look merry. Two of her elves had been found murdered, one squashed to death under a five hundred pound bag of toys, the other poisoned by toxic eggnog. It definitely seemed that somebody was being naughty not nice.…